Should Cell Phones Be Banned at Concerts? Sound Off!

Jack White is leading the charge for artists who don't want fans to use cell phones at live gigs, and he's come up with what some might consider an extreme measure to enforce that wish. Do you think performers are right in wanting to ban cell phones at their concerts?

It's not that unusual for performers to object to cell phones at their concerts. Beyonce, Prince, She & Him, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Black Crowes are among the other artists who have asked fans not to text or take photos or videos at live gigs. In country music, Kellie Pickler is just one example of an artist who'd rather connect directly with her audience, instead of performing to them through the screen of their upheld phone.

“There is no eye contact anymore,” the singer said in 2015. “At my concerts when I’m performing, sometimes all I notice are people’s phones. It’s very distracting. I think about the people who paid all this money to be in the front row, and they’re holding up their phones. They could have sat at home and watched me on YouTube.”

Count Kip Moore among the country artists who don't care for phones at their shows; the singer grabbed the phone from a woman who was texting nonstop during a show in 2016 and called the person on the other end to ask them to stop texting for the next 30 minutes while he played. Luke Bryan also had a little good-natured fun with a fan who was texting at a show.

The Eagles drew skepticism in 2015 when they asked security to actively police the crowds at their shows to discourage cell phone use, but White is taking it a step further with his upcoming gigs. White will use a relatively new system called Yondr to lock fans' phones up at the beginning of shows in a sealable pouch, where they won't be able to access them until the performance has concluded.

What do you think? Do you want to go to concerts and actually be able to see the stage without a sea of cell phones in the air? Or are you the kind of fan who wants to share your concert experiences with your friends via social media and preserve it for your own enjoyment later? Sound off in the poll below, and let us know why you feel the way you do in the comments.